Savannah or Charleston

I've been to Charleston a couple of times (about 10-12 years ago) and was in Savannah this past summer for the first time. You really cant go wrong in either city for a 4 day weekend. Charleston is the larger city of the two. Both cities have plenty of decent restaurants and bars and you can take tours of old homes in both cities. If its within your budget, I would recommend staying at a bed and breakfast in either city. The beach is also nearby both cities. If you feel like spending a day outside Savannah, you can go to Cumberland Island, which is the southernmost barrier island of Georgia. Its a national park and only a certain amount of people are allowed on the island. The island is 18 miles long and I think there are hiking trails all over the island (no motorized vehicles allowed. There are plenty of wild animals, including wild horses that roam around all over the place. You can camp near the beach or stay in the islands hotel, although its about $450 a night.

So I would say go with Savannah if you decide on visiting Cumberland as well....otherwise its pretty much a toss up.

Both cities are lovely, are a lot of fun and have really wonderful histories. Off the top of my head...

SAVANNAH - Savannah completely wins on charm and character. The city is laid out in a series of quaint squares which are fun to walk through. Most of the squares have interesting statues and lovely dropping spanish moss. It is very walkable and has lots of local character. If you choose Savannah, I highly, highly recommend reading Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil first. In addition to it being a good story, it really gives you a feel for the place (and the renting a movie is no substitute for the book!). If you like the book, you can visit Cleary's and St Bonaventure Cemetary. There is also a river walk area with fun bars and restaurants. Like New Orleans, you can walk around with to-go cups if you have not finished consuming your beverage.

CHARLESTON - that said, we found more to do in Charleston. Maybe it was just personal preference but we had a blast in Charleston. The market area is interesting, there are lots of ornate wrought-iron balconies and we found many excellent restaurants (we really liked SNOBS - Slightly North Of Broad Street - and there was a fantastic clam shack place in town whose name escapes me). You can go to Fort Sumter as well.

Both are great options for a long weekend, whatever you decide.

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<hr>and lovely dropping spanish moss<hr></blockquote>
Um, for what it is worth, that is DROOPING Spanish Moss.

Charleston was the wealthiest place (for non-slaves, that is) in British North America and maybe the world when the American Revolution broke out. It began to decline before the Civil War, and was saved from bulldozing and "improvement" by its post-war poverty. The result is that, despite disastrous fires, hurricanes, and even an earthquake, Charleston is unbeatable for upscale historic buildings.

Savannah's city plan is unique, except for Brunswick, Georgia. It's unfortunate that this clever arrangement of squares and city blocks of different sizes was never imitated.

Agree, can't go wrong with either, but if you are younger, Charleston in my opinion has a better nightlife and is more fun.

Unless of course you are going on March 17th where Savannah is now one of the wildest and craziest St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the country.

#2 summed up the main difference pretty well, Savannah is more charming with its unique and beautiful layout, in Charleston there's a greater variety of sites to see, particularly if you're into different periods of American history, and if you'll have a car.

If you're travelling on a tight budget, there's a hostel w/ $19 rooms in Charleston and I don't think there's any accomodation nearly so cheap in Savannah.

Charleston is a college town so there is more and younger nightlife there. Savannah might be a little better for more upscale and low-key nightlife (at least as far as I came across), but it certainly has some rowdier options too, just not on the magnitude of Charleston.

Here's a good website for Savannah info.

If you have any more specific questions that would help you make your decision, please go ahead and post them...

Savannah, unless you would like to see painted bowling balls posing as canon balls, stacked in a pyramid in the town green. If so, go to Charleston.

That's too bad if that's all you got out of your trip to Charleston #7...

I'm not sure I would call Charleston a college town, yes it does have some hot, less than road scholars at Col of Char, and there is the Citadel, but I wouldn't call it a college town.